Information terminal device provided with turning function-carrying camera

ABSTRACT

In an information terminal apparatus with a camera having a rotating function, the object of the invention is to impart a predetermined torque to a camera so as to render the camera easily rotatable by the force of a finger in a desired direction and to continue its state of standstill when the rotation is stopped. 
     An information terminal apparatus with a camera having a rotating function in accordance with the invention comprises: a camera unit including a cylindrical member  62  having a shaft portion  62 C at one end thereof and for accommodating a camera therein, and an annular member  72  which is fitted over the shaft portion  62 C; a main body portion  1  having a bearing portion  42  for holding the annular member  72  and for rotatably supporting the camera unit; and an elastic member  74  provided between the main body portion  1  and the cylindrical member  72 , wherein the elastic member  74  is arranged to impart a direction-of-axis force in an axial direction of the camera unit while moving together with the rotation of the camera unit.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an information terminal apparatus witha camera which is applicable as a portable telephone with a camera, aportable picture phone, or the like, and more particularly to aninformation terminal apparatus with a camera having a rotating functionwhich is provided with an arrangement for imparting torque to arotatable camera.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, in conjunction with the substantial improvement of datatransmission capabilities, in portable telephones attempts are beingmade to use the portable telephone not only as a terminal for voicecommunications but to use it widely as a data communication terminal.

For example, as one form of use as the data communication terminal, anarrangement has been proposed and developed in which a camera is mountedin the portable telephone, and which is capable transmitting image datapicked up by this camera in real time.

Meanwhile, with this data communication terminal, since variouscomponent parts such as a display, operation buttons, a microphone, aspeaker, and an antenna must be accommodated efficiently in a limitednarrow space, restrictions are similarly imposed on the place ofinstallation of the camera as well.

Because of such circumstances, a data communication terminal with acamera is known which is arranged such that, for instance, a rectangularnotched portion is provided in a side surface or an upper end surface ofthe data communication terminal, and a camera body is rotatably disposedin this notched portion. With such a data communication terminal with acamera, the arrangement provided is such that, by disposing the camerabody rotatably, the orientation of the camera body can be adjusted to adesired direction, and the camera body can be also oriented in thedirection of an operator himself or herself.

However, with the data communication terminal with a camera of theconstruction having such a rotating function, if the torque at the timeof rotating the camera body is close to zero, there is a possibilitythat the camera body rotates slightly soon after the camera body isstopped after its orientation is adjusted to a desired direction. Forthis reason, since blurring occurs in the picked-up image, the user musteffect shooting while holding the camera body with his or her fingers toavoid this, and the operability hence becomes extremely difficult.

Alternatively, if the torque at the time of rotating the camera body isextremely large, the camera body becomes difficult to rotate even if anattempt is made to adjust the orientation of the camera body to adesired direction. Therefore, there is a problem in that operabilitybecomes difficult such as in that usability becomes poor.

Accordingly, in view of the above-described circumstances, the object ofthe present invention is to provide an information terminal apparatuswith a camera having a rotating function which makes it possible toimpart a predetermined torque to the camera body, makes it possible tostop the camera body continuously after being adjusted to a desiredorientation, and makes it possible to rotate the camera body easily withthe force of a finger.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

First, the information terminal apparatus with a camera having arotating function in accordance with the invention is characterized bycomprising an imaging unit 6 including: a cylindrical camera unitrotatably supported by a main body portion of the information terminalapparatus; direction-of-axis force imparting means 74 formed of anelastic member for imparting a direction-of-axis force in a thrustingdirection of the camera unit; and means 71 for preventing the occurrenceof torsional stress for preventing the occurrence of torsional stress inthe direction-of-axis force imparting means 74.

Accordingly, since it is possible to prevent the occurrence of torsionalstress in the elastic member while a direction-of-axis force is beingimparted in the thrusting direction of the camera unit, it is possibleto allow a predetermined rotational torque to be generated in the cameraunit, and the state of rotation stop can be continued in a stablemanner.

Second, the information terminal apparatus with a camera having arotating function in accordance with the invention is characterized bycomprising an imaging unit including:

a camera unit including a cylindrical member 62 having a shaft portion62C at one end thereof and for accommodating a camera therein, and anannular member 72 which is fitted over the shaft portion 62C; and

an elastic member 74 provided between the cylindrical member 62 and amain body portion of the information terminal apparatus having a bearingportion 42 for holding the annular member 72 and for rotatablysupporting the camera unit, so as to impart a direction-of-axis force ina thrusting direction of the camera unit,

wherein the elastic member 74 is provided so as to rotate together withthe rotation of the camera unit.

Accordingly, since it is possible to prevent the occurrence of torsionalstress in the elastic member while a direction-of-axis force is beingimparted in the thrusting direction of the camera unit, it is possibleto allow a predetermined rotational torque to be generated in the cameraunit, and the state of rotation stop can be continued in a stablemanner.

Third, the elastic member is interposed between the camera unit and themain body portion.

Accordingly, since the elastic member can be rotated together with therotation of the camera unit, it is possible to prevent the occurrence ofthe torsional stress in the elastic member with a simple arrangement.

Fourth, the elastic member is formed of a rubber member and is providedin such a manner as to be compressed in the thrusting direction of thecamera unit.

Accordingly, since a rubber member such as silicone rubber or syntheticrubber can be used, it is unnecessary to increase the strength of theelastic member, and it is possible to avoid an increase in cost. Inaddition, since these rubber members excel in moldability and arereadily available, the arrangement is suitable for mass production. Inaddition, the torque can be imparted to the camera unit with a simplearrangement, and the heavy weight of the apparatus can be avoided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view to which a portable terminal apparatus witha camera in accordance with an embodiment of the invention is applied;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of essential portions shown inFIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state of assembly of theessential portions shown in FIG. 1

For information, reference numerals in the drawings represent asfollows; 1 is a lower housing (main body portion), 1A is an innercasing, 1B is an outer casing, 1C is an inner frame, 2 is an upperhousing (main body portion), 2A is an inner casing, 2B is an outercasing, 2C is an inner frame, 3 is a hinge portion (main body portion),4 is a lower hinge, 41 is a first rotating portion (lower housing side),42 is a second rotating portion (lower housing side) (bearing portion),5 is an upper hinge, 51 is a first rotating portion (upper housingside), 52 is a second rotating portion (upper housing side), 53 is areceiving portion (upper housing side), 53A is a groove portion, 53B isa stopper portion, 6 is an imaging unit, 61 is a lens-barrel (cameraunit), 62 is a holder (cylindrical member) (camera unit), 62C is atubular portion (shaft portion), 62D is a groove portion, 63 is a cap(camera unit), 63A is an aperture window, 64 is a lens cover (cameraunit), 65 is (coming-off preventing) ring (camera unit), 66 is a printedcircuit board, 67 is a flexible circuit board, 7 is an interlockingmechanism, 71 is a connecting member (member to be restricted), 71A is anotched portion, 72 is a collar (annular member) (second frictionmember), 73 is an E-ring (or a C-ring) (first friction member), and 74is a ring (direction-of-axis force imparting means).

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Referring now to the accompanying drawings, a detailed description willbe given of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a portable telephone to which a portable terminal apparatuswith a camera in accordance with the embodiment of the invention isapplied. This portable telephone includes a main body portion having alower housing 1, an upper housing 2, and a hinge portion 3, as well asan imaging unit 6 and an interlocking mechanism 7.

The lower housing 1 has a structure including, among others, an innercasing 1A, an outer casing 1B, an inner frame 1C (see FIG. 2) formed ofan appropriate material such as magnesium. Further, this lower housing 1is provided with an operating section having various buttons including aplurality of buttons 11 including a numeric keypad, a cursor button 12,function buttons 13 such as power supply, start, telephone directory,and clear buttons, and a voice manner button 14, as well as anunillustrated printed circuit board, an unillustrated microphone beingprovided at a position close to an end portion thereof.

The upper housing 2 has a structure including, among others, an innercasing 2A, an outer casing 2B, an inner frame 2C (see FIG. 2) formed ofan appropriate material such as magnesium and screwed onto an innercasing 2A. Further, this upper housing 2 is provided with, among others,a printed circuit board 66 (see FIG. 2) and a display section 21including a liquid-crystal display unit capable of displaying an imagepicked up by a camera of the imaging unit 6 which will be describedlater, an unillustrated speaker being provided at a position close to anend portion thereof. Even though a various operating buttons are notprovided on this upper housing 2, they may be provided.

The hinge portion 3 connects the upper housing 2 to the lower housing 1in such a manner as to be capable of folding them down, and as a generalstructure the hinge portion 3 has a lower hinge 4 which is integral withthe lower housing 1 and an upper hinge 5 which is integral with theupper housing 2.

Of these, the lower hinge 4 has, among others, a first rotating portion41 having the shape of a half cylinder (semi-long cylinder) and a secondrotating portion 42 having the shape of a cylinder (short cylinder),which are integrally provided in such a manner as to project from theaforementioned inner casing 1A, as well as a half cylinder-shapedreceiving portion which projects from the inner frame 1C and isintegrated to an inner peripheral surface of the first rotating portion41 by press-fitting or the like and a cylindrical shaft portion (neitherof the portions are shown).

The first rotating portion 41, together with the second rotating portion42, is arranged to hold the upper housing 2 such that the upper housing2 undergoes rotating motion in a stable state along the axial direction.In addition, the aforementioned shaft portion provided on the firstrotating portion 41 side is adapted to rotatably support a secondrotating member 52, which will be described later, on the upper hingeportion 5 side integrally with the first rotating portion 41.

The second rotating portion 42 is formed integrally on an upper endportion of the inner frame 1C, and rotatably supports the imaging unit 6side. In addition, an auxiliary receiving portion 43 having the shape ofa projecting piece is formed on an upper end portion of the inner frame1C adjacent to this second rotating portion 42 in a state in which theauxiliary receiving portion 43 is in contact with a first rotatingportion 51 on the upper hinge 5 side or in a state in which a very smallgap is being maintained therebetween. This auxiliary receiving portion43 is adapted to support or guide the rotating motion of the firstrotating portion 51, and the auxiliary receiving portion 43 in thisembodiment is formed with the portion of a circular arc corresponding toa central angle of approximately 45 degrees, specifically the length ofa circular arc which is ⅛ or thereabouts of the entire circumference.

Meanwhile, the upper hinge 5 has the first rotating portion 51 havingthe shape of a half cylinder (semi-long cylinder) and formed integrallywith the aforementioned outer casing 2B of the upper housing 2; thesecond rotating portion 52 having the shape of a cylinder (shortcylinder), which is formed of an appropriate metal separately from theouter casing 2B and which is integrally fixed to the inner frame 2C,which will be described later, by press-fitting or the like; and areceiving portion 53 (see FIG. 2) having the shape of a half cylinder(semi-long cylinder) and formed integrally on the inner surface side ofthe first rotating portion 51 by press-fitting or the like.

As shown in FIG. 2, the receiving portion 53 which is integral with thefirst rotating portion 51 is interlocked with the rotating motion of theupper housing 2, and is arranged to undergo rotating motion in a freelyrotating state (integrally with the imaging unit 6) with respect to acollar 72, which will be described later, and the second rotatingportion 42 of the lower housing 1. For this reason, the coefficient offriction of the receiving portion 53 with respect to an E-ring 73 is setto be large (larger than the coefficient of friction with the collar 72and the second rotating portion 42 of the lower housing 1).

In addition, as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 2, a pair of left andright auxiliary receiving portions 54 (only the right-hand side is shownin FIG. 2) are provided projectingly on the inner frame 2C. Theseauxiliary receiving portions 54 are formed by projecting piecesprojecting in a substantially arcuate shape from a lower edge portion ofthe inner frame 2C, and are adapted to support or guide the rotatingmotion of the upper housing 2 in a stable state in a state in which theauxiliary receiving portions 54 are in contact with the first rotatingportion 41 and the second rotating portion 42 or in a state in which avery small gap is being maintained therebetween. It should be noted thatthe auxiliary receiving portions 54 in this embodiment are each formedwith the portion of a circular arc corresponding to a central angle ofapproximately 45 degrees, i.e., the length of a circular arc which is ⅛or thereabouts of the entire circumference.

Furthermore, the lower hinge 4 and the upper hinge 5 are provided withappropriate stoppers (not shown) which are restricting members forrestricting the range of rotation of the imaging unit 6, and aconnecting member 71 which is a member to be restricted on theinterlocking mechanism 7 side, which will be described later, isarranged to be retained by them. The stoppers in this embodiment areformed at two appropriate positions so that the connecting member 71rotates in the range of about 270 degrees.

The imaging unit 6 is provided rotatably with respect to the hingeportion 3, and the angle of rotation is arranged to be capable of beingadjusted freely by the rotating motion of the upper housing 2 and themanual rotating motion by gripping with fingers or the like. As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, as a camera unit the imaging unit 6 in this embodimentincludes a lens-barrel 61, a holder 62 divided into upper and lowerparts for holding the lens-barrel 61, a cap 63 which is fitted over thisholder 62 from a lateral direction, a lens cover 64, and a ring 65 forpreventing the cap 63 from coming off.

The holder 62 is formed by joining an upper holder 62A and a lowerholder 62B, and the (imaging) lens 60 fixed in the lens-barrel 61 over acushioning material 68 is accommodated in the hollow interior thereof.In addition, an unillustrated CCD and the printed circuit board 66 formounting this CCD thereon are mounted inside this holder 62 at afocusing position of the lens 60. Further, a flexible circuit board 67is led out from this printed circuit board 66 so as to electricallyconnect the CCD on the imaging unit 6 side and the unillustrated printedcircuit board and the like on the upper housing 2 (or the lower housing1) side. Specifically, this flexible circuit board 67 is led out to thehinge portion 3 side by making use of the joining surfaces of the upperholder 62A and the lower holder 62B, as shown in FIG. 4.

An aperture window 63A for allowing the light from an object of shootingto enter the lens 60 is formed in the cap 63, and the arrangementprovided is such that the shooting direction can be freely changed andset within a predetermined angular range by the opening/closing motionof the upper housing 2 and the rotating operation of the cap 63 bygripping with fingers or the like.

The interlocking mechanism 7 is for causing the lens 60 to be exposedfrom the upper and lower housings 1 and 2 to the outside and toaccommodate the lens 60 inside the housings 1 and 2. The arrangementprovided is such that the imaging unit 6 is rotated in interlockingrelation to the opening and closing motion of the upper housing 2, andis rotatively operated with fingers or the like, as described above.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this interlocking mechanism 7 has theconnecting member 71 which is fitted over a tubular portion 62Cprojecting laterally from the holder 62 of the imaging unit 6, thecollar 72 fitted over this connecting member 71, the E-ring (or C-ring)73, and a ring 74.

The connecting member 71 is for rotatably holding the imaging unit 6with respect to the hinge portion 3, and for rotating the imaging unit 6with a frictional force (μ) integrally with the upper housing 2. Inparticular, this connecting member 71 constitutes a rotation restrictingmember to allow the rotating motion of the imaging unit 6 with respectto the lower housing 1 only in a fixed range. Namely, as shown in FIG.3, as for this connecting member 71, a notched portion 71A in which aregion corresponding to 90 degrees in terms of the central angle isnotched is provided in a portion of an outer peripheral portion thereof,and as either surface of this notched portion 71A is retained by thestopper of the aforementioned restricting member, further rotation isprevented.

For this reason, in a case where the upper housing 2 is closed by therotating motion, the connecting member 71 is interlocked with the upperhousing 2 until the connecting member 71 is retained by the stopper ofthe restricting member. However, the connecting member 71, upon beingthus retained, is not interlocked with the upper housing 2, and only theupper housing 2 rotates as it is. On the other hand, in a case where theupper housing 2 is opened from the closed state by the rotating motion,the connecting member 71 undergoes rotating motion as it is ininterlocking relation to the upper housing 2 from the position where itis held. Further, since this connecting member 71 is retained by thestopper of the restricting member with respect to rotation of a fixedangle or more, in the case where the upper housing 2 is opened, the lens60 on the imaging unit 6 side, which rotates integrally with theconnecting member 71, is always oriented at a position falling withinthe predetermined angular range. Consequently, it is possible tosimplify the operation of positional adjustment of the lens 60 when theupper housing 2 is opened, thereby making it possible to improve theoperating efficiency.

The collar 72 is inserted between an outer peripheral surface of theconnecting member 71 and an inner peripheral surface of the secondrotating portion 42 provided integrally on the inner frame 1C of thelower housing 1 making up a portion of the lower hinge portion 4, andthe collar 72 constitutes a second friction member. Namely, this collar72 is formed of an appropriate metallic material, and is arranged suchthat when the upper housing 2 undergoes rotating motion, the receivingmember 53 formed integrally with the upper housing 2 and hence theconnecting member 71 rotate in a state of being relatively rotatablewith respect to this collar 72. For this reason, as for this collar 72,if it is assumed that its maximum coefficient of friction with respectto the inner peripheral surface of the second rotating portion 42 is μ1and that its maximum coefficient of friction with respect to the outerperipheral surface of the connecting member 71 is μ2, the E-ring 73which will be described later has the following relationships concerningits maximum coefficients of friction μ3 and μ4 with respect to thereceiving portion 53 on the upper housing 2 side and the tubular portion62C of the holder 62:μ1<μ3  (1)μ2<μ3  (2)or,μ1<μ4  (3)μ2<μ4  (4)

On the other hand, the E-ring 73 is formed in a substantiallycylindrical shape, and is inserted between the tubular portion 62C ofthe holder 62 and the receiving portion 53 of the upper housing 2 sidewhich is press-fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the firstrotating portion 51 making up a portion of the upper hinge 5. Namely,this E-ring 73 is fitted in a groove portion 62D of the tubular portion62C of the holder 62, and is fitted in a groove portion 53A provided inthe receiving portion 53 on the upper housing 2 side, so as to preventthe imaging unit 6 from coming off. It should be noted that, as for thegroove portion 62D of the holder 62 to which this E-ring 73 is inserted,its axial length is greater than the axial length of the E-ring 73.Accordingly, this E-ring 73 is arranged to be capable of moving in theaxial direction in the groove portion 62D.

In addition, this E-ring 73 has protruding portions 73A projecting fromboth surface portions of its edge portion side in the form of collars,and the arrangement provided is such that the E-ring 73 comes into linecontact with the groove portion of the receiving portion 53 at theseprotruding portions 73A. In particular, this E-ring 73 constitutes afirst friction member since, when the upper housing 2 undergoes rotatingmotion, by making use of a frictional force with respect to thereceiving portion 53 formed integrally with the upper housing 2, theE-ring 73 rotates integrally with this receiving portion 53 (and theconnecting member 71), and its coefficient of friction is set to begreater than that of the collar 72 which is the second friction member.

Namely, this E-ring 73 is arranged to satisfy the above-describedrelationships (1) and (2), or (3) and (4) if its maximum coefficients offriction with respect to the receiving portion 53 on the upper housing 2side and the tubular portion 62C of the holder 62 are assumed to be μ3and μ4, respectively.

Further, as for this E-ring 73 which is the first friction member, itsmaximum frictional forces with respect to the receiving portion 53 andthe tubular portion 62C of the holder 62 are set to be smaller than therotatively operating force by means of fingers, such that an operator isable to rotatively operate the imaging unit 6 reliably by means of hisor her fingers.

It should be noted that the E-ring 73 in this embodiment is formed of anappropriate synthetic resin material having a certain degree of a springcharacteristic with respect to the radial direction, and is arranged tobe is able to ride over a stopper portion 53B provided on the receivingportion 53 and to fit into the groove portion 53A formed on its innerside.

In FIG. 2, the ring 74 made of silicone rubber has an annular shape withan outside diameter D1, an inside diameter D2, and a thickness t, isinserted up to a root portion of the tubular portion 62C projectinglaterally from the holder 62 of the imaging unit 6. Subsequently, theabove-described connecting member 71, which is formed of an oilretaining resin, an oil retaining metal, or a material such as POMhaving a high sliding characteristic, is fitted over them, therebyforming a camera unit.

In this camera unit, the connecting member 71 is inserted in the collar72 fitted unrotatably in the main body portion, and the E-ring 73 isfitted to the groove portion 62D formed on one end side of the tubularportion 62C, and is rotatably fitted to the main body portion of theportable telephone, specifically the second rotating portion 42 which isa bearing portion. Upon the fitting of the E-ring 73, the ring 74 isadapted to be fitted in such a manner as to be compressed. Specifically,the arrangement provided is such that the thickness t of the ring 74changes from about 2t/3 to t/2. The ring 74 generates repulsion by thecompressed portion, and this repulsion can be imparted to the cameraunit.

It should be noted that since the repulsion is based on compression, therepulsion is arranged to act only in the thrusting direction of thecamera unit.

Next, a description will be given of the operation of the portabletelephone with a camera having a rotating function in accordance withthis embodiment.

For example, it is assumed that the camera unit is oriented in anarbitrary direction, and that the camera is rotated in order to shootthe user himself or herself holding the portable telephone in his or herhand. At this time, the torque T for rotating the camera unit can beexpressed by the following formula (5):T=μ·r·N  (5)

where μ: coefficient of friction when the camera unit rotates

-   -   r: central radius of the E-ring 73 (central radius between the        outside diameter and the inside diameter)    -   N: direction-of-axis force (repulsion acting in the thrusting        direction of the camera unit)

From this formula (5), it can be appreciated that the torque T at thetime of rotating the camera unit is proportional to thedirection-of-axis force N since the coefficient of friction u and thecentral radius r are constants.

Accordingly, if this direction-of-axis force N is set arbitrarily, thetorque for rotating the camera unit can be set to a predetermined value.Here, since the ring 74 is provided in such a manner as to be compressedbetween the connecting member 71 and the large-diameter tubular portion62C accommodating the camera as in the embodiment of the invention, itsrepulsion N becomes equivalent to an abutting force with which theE-ring 73 abuts against the stopper portion 53B of the receiving portion53.

Further, a description will be given of the coefficients of friction inthe case where the camera unit is rotated. Although the coefficients offriction μ1 to μ4 are present as described above, settings can beprovided such that the maximum coefficient of friction μ1=0 since thecollar member 72 is set in a nonrotatable state by being press-fittedand held onto the inner peripheral surface of the second rotatingportion 42, μ2=0 since the connecting member 71 rotating with respect tothe fixed collar member 72 is formed of a material whose slidingcharacteristic is high, and μ4=0 since the E-ring 73 is fitted to thetubular portion 62C of the holder 62B.

Accordingly, the coefficient of friction at the time when the cameraunit is rotated can be set to μ3. It should be noted that since the ring74 is arranged to rotate together with the rotation of the camera unitwhile the ring 74 is being clamped between the cylindrical portion 62and the connecting member 71, torsional stress cannot be possiblyapplied to the ring 74, so that the ring 74 is prevented from beingpulled off or cut off.

Here, a description will be given of a case in which the ring 74 isprovided in such a manner as to be compressed between the E-ring 73 andthe stopper portion 53B. In this case, the direction-of-axis force N canbe applied to the camera unit as in this embodiment. However, since thearrangement provided is such that the ring 74 does not rotate togethereven if the camera unit is rotated, torsional stress is applied to thering 74. For this reason, if the rotation of the camera unit is repeateda plurality of times, breakage of the ring 74 can possibly result.

In addition, if the camera unit is rotated in a predetermined directionwith fingers and the fingers are released after stopping, since thetorsional stress applied to the ring 74 tends to become zero, so-calledbacklash is present in which the camera unit slightly returns to theside opposite to the rotating direction. Namely, even if the camera unitis oriented in a predetermined direction with the fingers, theorientation changes upon release of the fingers, so that this is veryinconvenient to the user.

Further, if a force is applied in the radial direction of the cameraunit, a portion of the ring 74 is further compressed, so that the cameraunit jogs in the radial direction, so that there is a problem in that afeeling that the apparatus might be broken is imparted to is the user.

Accordingly, the arrangement of the embodiment of the invention in whichthe torsional stress is not applied to the ring 74 for imparting thethrust force to the camera unit as in the embodiment of the invention isoptimally suited. Moreover, since this ring 74 is formed of siliconerubber, versatility is high and availability is excellent, the ring 74is suitable for mass production. In addition, since a predeterminedtorque can be imparted to the camera unit with a simple arrangement, theperformance of the apparatus can be remarkably enhanced while avoidingthe heavy weight of the apparatus.

It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the invention, the ring 74is provided so as to rotate together with the rotation of the cameraunit, the invention is not limited to this embodiment. Namely, insofaras the arrangement provided is such that the torsional stress is notapplied to the ring at the time of rotating the camera unit, it ispossible to obtain a predetermined torque and eliminate the backlash.

For example, if the aforementioned ring 74 is provided in such a manneras to be compressed between the E-ring 73 and the stopper portion 53B,and a spacer which is immobile with respect to the ring 74 is addedbetween the E-ring 73 and the ring 74, it is possible to attain astructure which prevents the torsional stress from occurring in the ring74. However, since this newly results in the addition of a part, highercost results, so that this arrangement is unsuitable for massproduction, but serves the same purpose as the technical means forsolving the problem.

Incidentally, according to an experiment by the present inventors, therange of approximately 30 to 200 gf·cm was suitable as the torque forfacilitating rotation on the part of the user and for continuouslystopping, so that in the embodiment of the invention this torque is setto approximately 100 gf·cm by taking into consideration dimensionalvariations in fabricating the apparatus.

It should be noted that this application is based on Japanese PatentApplication No. 2001-185261 filed on Jun. 19, 2001, and its contents areincorporated herein by way of reference.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, in accordance with the invention, since the ringwhich is formed of an elastic member such as silicone rubber and whichrotates together with the rotation of the camera unit capable ofrotating with respect to the main body portion is provided in such amanner as to be compressed, and its repulsion is imparted to the cameraunit. Therefore, since a predetermined torque is required at the time ofchanging the orientation of the camera unit, the state after therotation stop is maintained and continued, and usability improves inthat it is possible to prevent the orientation of the camera unit fromchanging easily after the orientation of the camera unit has been setfor the purpose of shooting.

In addition, in accordance with the invention, since it is possible toprevent the orientation of the camera unit from changing easily even ina case where the camera unit is automatically closed in interlockingrelation to the folding-down operation, it is possible to prevent thetrouble that, owing to the vibration from the outside or at the time ofputting the apparatus into or out of a pocket, the orientation of thecamera unit changes when it is carried, causing the lens or the coverglass of the camera unit to become exposed and become stained ordamaged.

1. An information terminal apparatus with a camera having a rotatingfunction, comprising: an imaging unit including: a camera unit rotatablysupported by a main body portion of said information terminal apparatus;direction-of-axis force imparting means formed of an elastic member forimparting a direction-of-axis force in a thrusting direction of saidcamera unit; and means for preventing the occurrence of torsional stressfor preventing the occurrence of torsional stress in saiddirection-of-axis force imparting means.
 2. The information terminalapparatus with a camera having a rotating function according to claim 1,wherein said elastic member is interposed between said camera unit andsaid main body portion of said information terminal apparatus.
 3. Theinformation terminal apparatus with a camera having a rotating functionaccording to claim 2, wherein said elastic member is formed of a rubbermember and is provided in such a manner as to be compressed in thethrusting direction of said camera unit.
 4. The information terminalapparatus with a camera having a rotating function according to claim 1,wherein said elastic member is formed of a rubber member and is providedin such a manner as to be compressed in the thrusting direction of saidcamera unit.
 5. An information terminal apparatus with a camera having arotating function, comprising: a camera unit including a cylindricalmember having a shaft portion at one end thereof and for accommodating acamera therein, and an arched member which is fitted over said shaftportion; a main body portion of said information terminal apparatusincluding a bearing portion for holding said arched member and forrotatably supporting said camera unit; and an elastic member providedbetween said main body portion and said cylindrical member so as toimpart a direction-of-axis force in a thrusting direction of said cameraunit, wherein said elastic member is provided so as to rotate togetherwith the rotation of said camera unit.
 6. The information terminalapparatus with a camera having a rotating function according to claim 5,wherein said elastic member is interposed between said camera unit andsaid main body portion of said information terminal apparatus.
 7. Theinformation terminal apparatus with a camera having a rotating functionaccording to claim 5, wherein said elastic member is formed of a rubbermember and is provided in such a manner as to be compressed in thethrusting direction of said camera unit.